CONSHOHOCKEN — The nightmare that was Norristown’s loss to Coatesville in the second round of the state playoffs continue to haunt Eagles players as if the game had been played yesterday. However, it is a bad memory that serves not to hinder them, but a cold, hardened reminder of how such highs can turn to miserable lows. That memory, unsettling as it is, pushed the Norristown boys to victory in the Donofrio Tournament Thursday night, winning 97-93 over FillySol.

Down as many as 17 points, Del-Val VC — more or less the starting lineup of the Norristown Eagles — was struggling. Their opponents, FillySol, had size and talent, including the Penn State-bound, Julian Moore from Germantown Academy. From the get-go, FillySol went right at Del-Val in the paint while the home team settled for jumpers and outside shots.

“I think we started out of control, we weren’t playing our game,” Bernard Gordon, who scored eight points, said. “We had to settle down, that’s all we really needed to do … and as soon as we settled down in the second half, things started going our way.”

The term, “going our way,” certainly puts the effort lightly; an 18-1 run from the end of the first into the beginning of the second brought Del-Val right back into the contest. The issues of turnovers, getting beaten on the offensive glass, the inability to find space in the paint all but vanished as Del-Val ran in rhythm as if the regular season had never ended.

“We were down 17, but then we started seeing openings, starting pushing the ball,” Marquis Bryant said. “When we started pushing the ball it gives us space for assists, passing, creating a better shot for our shooters and easier to crash the boards if we’re all separated.”

Within three plays, the first half deficit turned to positives in the second. Luke Kelley opened up with a three-pointer, Jahbri Hargrove laid in two and Josh Johnson added a put-back slam.

“They were being aggressive in the first half, but once we saw the lead they had, we started being aggressive ourselves,” Johnson said. “I like playing against good competition, it fires me up, it fires my teammates up, and we play better.”

Marquis Bryant made the naysayers believers as he dribbled coast-to-coast, missed the layup under duress, Johnson flubbed the put-back, but Hargrove was right there to pick up the loose change. But with under nine minutes left in the contest, Johnson was sent to the bench to sit with five fouls for fear of picking up his game-ending sixth.

“I started thinking about the Coatesville game, because Josh (Johnson) had gotten into foul trouble, and it didn’t go too good,” Gordon said. “But I’m glad Jahad York and Marquis Bryant stepped up on defense — boxing out, getting rebounds over their outstanding bigs.”

Down the stretch, it was Del-Val’s/Norristown’s chemistry as a team that made them victorious.

“We know who to get the ball to to get free throws and stuff like that, so I think that’s one thing we took advantage of going down the stretch,” Gordon said.

And in asking what this win is reminiscent of during the high school season, Bryant remembers the last stellar win Norristown enjoyed.

“When we played Roman Catholic. They’re a really good team and we just tried to focus on what we had to do and to keep our game plan,” Bryant said. “We couldn’t go outside of the box.”

In knocking off one of the biggest and most talented teams in the Donofrio, Norristown moves on the quarterfinals where they’ll face the winners of the Yellow Jackets/Team Philly matchup next Thursday night, April 11.